PAUL OF DUNE

Loved this book, enjoyed as much as the first dune books , will definitely read more from this pair. Thanks

I put it downonly when I finished it

... himself had not used in his giant work, before leaving his mourning fans and followers behind. But his son had the possibility to use those enormous informations to fill in certain holes in the narrative between books. In this case PAUL OF DUNE starts after the end of Frank Herbert's first novel DUNE and the beginning of the next novel DUNE MESSIAH. Because there is a question to answer: how a hero adored not only on one planet became a tyrant hated by almost the whole known universe.With PAUL OF DUNE begins the story of those twelve untold years and how the wars of the jihad of Paul Muad'Dib started. But not only that, the collection of about 600 pages go even further into the past of Paul, into his youth and his often not easy adventures together with his masters like Duncan Idaho and many others.I have to admit, there are some fillers which fitted in less. But the other stories full of danger, fighting, betrayal and murder make up for those, and much more.To me it has brought a lot of new information not only about Paul, but about the whole DUNE UNIVERSE. For me personally a must-read while waiting for the new DUNE MOVIE finally in arrive in September 2021.There is a second collection with stories later than PAUL OF DUNE, called THE WINDS OF DUNE. But I still have to read this one, so I will write about that one afterwards.

When "Dune Messiah" finally appeared it was shocking and hugely disappointing that Frank Herbert followed the incredible book-long build up of Paul Muad'Dib's and the Arrakian Fremen's rise to power and successive overthrow of the Galactic Emperor with a jolting fast-forward that completely skipped what he had built up so carefully in "Dune". Paul Atriedes and his Fremen followers, along with the surviving Atriedes muscle in the persons of Gurney Halleck and Thufir Hawat were poised on the verge of the great Jihad, or galaxy-sweeping war that would establish Paul as the new Emperor. Then Dune Messiah skipped all of that and the Jihad was passed over entirely. It as past tense already. "Paul of Dune", penned by Frank Herbert's son, Brian and his writing partner, Kevin J. Anderson more than just fills in that gap.It's an incredibly accomplished work unto itself. The book is so well-written and so beautifully in tune with Frank Herbert's tone and style that it is now an indispensable volume, a must indeed, that sits properly and magnificently between "Dune" and "Dune Messiah". I can't imagine not having it there. The story of the great Jihad is portrayed more as a mindless, fanatical bloodbath for it's own sake than a glorious crusade that will be sung about by minstrels in the ages to come. It speaks of the unthinking, mob blindness of those with nothing to lose attaching themselves to a fanatical cause that turns into mind-numbing cruelty. The destruction of the capital of Corrin reminds one of the sacking and burning of Rome by the barbarian hordes. This is deeply troubling to Paul as he sees both what he has unleashed into the universe and the far-flung future 'necessity' of it. In itself this element of the story is as potent a criticism of revolution as was George Orwell's "Animal Farm". Just far, far more bloody and senseless.Lovers of the original classic, will be more than happy to see extensive use of some key and powerful figures that appeared somewhat briefly in "Dune" to fill in some very important back story. Count and Lady Fenring for example and Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, one of the richest and most colourful 'villains' ever conceived for fiction. A frightening and revolting figure who nevertheless exercises a kind of horror-fascination that draws you to him. He appears in "Paul of Dune", in all his disgusting glory and provides some key narrative background as well as an even fuller, fleshed-out richness of character. Duke Leto Atriedes, Jessica, Alia, the Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam, Stilgar, Gurney Halleck, Chani, Korba, Princess Irulan, Emperor Shaddam IV himself, his former friend, Hasimir Fenring and his inseparable wife, Margot, all appear again, each one filling in much needed back story as well as all being expanded greatly in their characters. Some of them, the Fenrings in particular, create a fascinating and rather disturbing threat to Paul Muad'Dib that will play out later in the larger story.Important narrative backgrounds are woven into the kinds of thick bramble of plots within plots within plots, that "Dune" fans found so deliciously irresistible in the original novel. We find out that Gurney Halleck was born and raised on the Harkonnen home world of Geidi Prime and his childhood there was tragic and heartbreaking. We see the younger Dr. Wellington Yueh, arriving into the presence of Duke Leto Atriedes for the first time in the service of another nobleman. And there is the introduction of such colourful figures as Whitmore Bludd, the dandy but very deadly architect/swordsman, who trained with Duncan Idaho.The seven sections of the book flip back and forth between the post "Dune", pre-"Dune Messiah" gap and those that deal with Paul Atriedes' childhood, such as the unforgettable actual marriage of his father Leto and it's jaw-dropping tragic outcome. These "young Paul Atriedes" sections deliver a rich, psychological background that helps you to understand, even more deeply, the motives, quandaries, doubts, success and failings of Paul as Galactic Emperor. Unexpected at first but absolutely essential. The authors went way beyond the mere filling in of a gap, they've brilliantly woven in fresh but utterly appropriate insights of their own that do the greater narrative, spanning the distance right through to "Chapterhouse: Dune", a valiant service.Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson worked from Frank Herbert's detailed and extensive notes and it shows. Their work is so seamlessly blended in with the elder Herbert's 6 volume series, as an irremovable 7th, that one would think that it was written by the series founder himself. Brian Herbert has done for his father what Christopher Tolkien did for J.R.R. This is not a cynical cashing in on the successes of Brian's father's work. "Paul of Dune" is both a magnificent homage to the young Herbert's father and his much-honoured work as well as a page-turning, fast moving, plot rich, skillfully written masterpiece in itself. Brian Herbert, along with co-writer, Kevin Anderson, have proven themselves here and with all the other books they've published in the larger "Dune" series, such as "The Butlerian Jihad", "The Machine Crusade", "The Battle of Corrin" and the other trilogy of the Houses, Atriedes, Harkonnen and Corrino, etc, as brilliant authors in their own right.Rich, complex and surprising plot lines, colourful well fleshed-out characters and a fast-paced immaculate writing style that rips along with jaw-dropping wonder, fabulous locations, horrors a-plenty, tragedy, comedy, and the verve of a master swordsman. "Paul of Dune" was a risky undertaking that succeeds more than wonderfully. Love "Dune" but were disappointed terribly by the gap between it and "Dune Messiah" ? Don't hesitate to include this in your "Dune" collection, even if it's the only one you add to the original six.

I love that Frank Herbert's books have lived on with his son, great read.